Menu

Tennessee Republicans

There is little to be said that the news from Lucas L. Johnson II of Associated Press, well, does not already say itself:

The Tennessee Legislative Black Caucus on Thursday called on Republican Rep. Sheila Butt to apologize for what they said was a racist Facebook post, and said she should be removed from her leadership position ....

.... Butt’s post said, “It is time for a Council on Christian Relations and an NAAWP in this Country.”

It was a comment on a Jan. 26 open letter from the Council on American-Islamic Relations urging potential Republican presidential candidates to reject “Islamophobia” and reach out to American Muslim voters.

Critics say “NAAWP” has been used by white supremacist organizations and stands for the “National Association for the Advancement of White People.”

Butt, who is white, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that “NAAWP” stands for the “National Association of Advancement for Western Peoples,” and said her post had been misinterpreted. It has since been deleted.

On the House floor Thursday, Butt said she “never intended to offend anyone,” then cited her right under the “First Amendment to speak our minds.”

Well, that’s the really hard thing, right? Because it cannot simply be a characteristic of being Republican, can it?

But they really don’t get it.

There is a strain of thought infecting the American discourse in which a point makes sense in the context of all things being equal but is offered under circumstances in which all things are observably not equal.

Or, if you will, Samantha Lachman’s lead for Huffington Post pretty much sums up the problem:

A Republican-led Tennessee legislative committee failed to extend funding Wednesday for the state’s Economic Council on Women, with some of the lawmakers asking why there isn’t a similar council for men.